Bowser is leaving Nintendo of America

Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s President and Chief Operating Officer, is stepping down on December 31, 2025, according to Nintendo. Bowser’s leadership responsibilities will now be split between two executives: Devon Pritchard, NoA’s Executive Vice President of Revenue, Marketing and Consumer Experience, will take over as President, and Satoru Shibata, the current Corporate Director and Managing Executive Director, will act as the company’s CEO.

Bowser first joined Nintendo in 2015 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing, before replacing long-time President Reggie Fils-Aimé in 2019. In comparison to some of the company’s other leaders, Bowser was much less of a public-facing presence, but he still guided Nintendo of America through a transformative portion of the company’s history. Nintendo not only opened a theme park while Bowser was in charge, but also had a major Hollywood release in The Super Mario Bros. Movie and a successful console launch with the release of the Switch 2 earlier this year. Bowser also weathered his fair share of controversies, including reports that Nintendo of America was failing to address issues of gender discrimination among its employees.

“Leading Nintendo of America has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am proud of what our team has accomplished in both business results and the experiences we’ve created for consumers,” Bowser said in a statement. “Now, it’s time for the next generation of leadership and Devon’s track record speaks for itself,” Bowser continued. “She is an exceptional leader, and her promotion is a testament to her strong performance and strategic contributions to the company’s growth.”

According to Nintendo, “Pritchard plans to build on the many experiences that allow consumers to connect with Nintendo’s characters and worlds, from video games to entertainment to retail experiences.” The company might be too big and successful now to feature someone with as much personality as Fils-Aimé, but if Pritchard plans to stick with business-as-usual, maybe Shibata could become the public face Nintendo has been missing.